1. Field
The present invention relates to a functional thin tube device available for a case where body liquid such as blood is drawn, or where used as an analyzing needle, an injector of medical liquid, etc. in various fields such as a medical field or biological study field, or where the liquid is transported in a minute area.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a hollow tube as a channel path and a pump for energizing the liquid to flow in the tube are required for transportation of a small amount of liquid (movement, drawing, supply, carry, etc.) in the field of a medical care and a biological study. As the pump is an important component in the field of drawing small amounts of blood and in the field of medical equipment for the purpose of medical dosing, the important function such as the control of flow rate and volume of flow is required for the pump to transport the liquid through the hollow tube. In the field of the development of measuring devices of blood sugar level, which is, in particular, popular in the field of medical care, it is important for the pump to be able to deal with a small amount of liquid such as blood.
In a conventional blood sugar level measuring device for testing diabetes, approximately 10 ml of blood of outpatients is drawn by an injector based on the pharmaceutical affairs law, and the blood sugar level thereof is measured by a well-known blood-analysis system using a flow injection method having a centrifuge and a pump function. At present, simplification, compactization, and invasions to the human body are required. Therefore, disposal sensors for self-testing of blood sugar level have been developed to be able to measure the blood sugar level at an extremely small amount like being less than or equal to 1μ liters, and are commercially available for a portable blood analysis system.
The above-mentioned disposal sensor for management of self-blood sugar level is required (1) for injection movement for piercing the injection measurement device such as a lancet in a finger or abdomen, and (2) for sophisticated manual operation for sucking the about 1μ liters blood as exuded at a lancer spot by a tester himself. This can be undesirable for patients. The outside diameter of a needle for the lancet necessitates hundreds of μ meters. Then, the influence to the human body owing to the drawing blood, in particular, significant discomfort, can result. Though the micro pump for drawing blood using an extremely thin needle so as to reduce pain and discomfort has been developed and studied, in some cases devices are required to be more compact than such needles for the pump function. On the other hand, the micro machine technique (MEMS: micro electro mechanical systems) of manufacturing devices such as a micro machine device provide opportunities to develop the transportation of a small amount of liquid chemical and a drawing small amounts of blood.
For example, the following technique has been known as the above-mentioned method for manufacturing such a micro machine device. This technique includes, at first as “Lab on a chip”, a small flow path on a glass plate or high polymer base plate to seal by an adhesion of an elastic body such as rubber. Further, the functional material for obtaining the force by transforming the electrical energy into the mechanical energy is placed on the elastic body. The flow function is applied to the device itself by applying forces from the top of liquid sealing rubber thereto. For example, this kind of technique has been disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Unexamined Laid-Open Publication No. Heisei 5-26170.
However, as the above conventional micro machine device is required for a sophisticated channel design, it is difficult to design or process the device into a shape other than a plate-like shape. As in a conventional blood sugar level measuring device, the development of both a pump and a blood (liquid) drawing device is required. Since the channel design is formed on a base plate, it has some significant limitations in how and where it can be used.
The present invention is considered in view of the present situation as above mentioned. The present invention is constituted to be simple, without requiring a sophisticated channel design by integrating a pump and a channel. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a functional thin tube device that can be used in various applications.